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May 21, 2009

Process written in stone

"1" marks the spot. A marker, placed for the photo by MIT/WHOI Joint Program student Evelyn Mervine, indicates veins of altered rock in an ophiolite (uplifted, exposed former ocean crust)
in Oman. The veins are carbonate minerals, where rock combined with
water and carbon dioxide to create the carbonates. During this process,
said Mervine, the carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is drawn from the
air, providing a net sink for atmospheric CO2—which makes the process
interesting to WHOI oceanographers studying climate. Mervine, who studies ophiolites, recently participated in a research trip to Oman.
(Photo by Evelyn Mervine, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)